Commission rejects Scottish autonomy

This ruling is a positive development in terms of the United Kingdom, but the trend under the Labour Government, whether led by Tony Blair or Gordon Brown (one born in Scotland, the other born and raised there) has certainly been towards Scottish independence.

That shouldn't be wholly unexpected. The Acts of Union (1707) uniting the Parliaments of Scotland and England (the Crowns of England and Scotland had been united already in 1606 - click on the image at the right for more information) were seen as an unfortunate turn of events by many Scots and some English even then. What is more, the Acts allowed for some manner of continued Scottish autonomy insofar as Scotland was not required to submit to having the Church of England as its national church.

Like most unions of states, this one is imperfect, fraught with tensions, and deemed by many to unequally distribute its benefits among the states involved. Nonetheless, as a general rule unions of states persist--at least those entered into voluntarily by the states--despite imperfections because for everyone or nearly everyone involved the benefits outweigh the costs.

Sentiment among the Scots for independence has waxed and waned for many decades. Today, through the on-again off-again process of devolution, Scotland has its own Parliament to handle certain domestic matters, and its educational system is wholly separate from the educational system in the rest of the UK. And even as we live in a world made smaller by globalization, there is at the same time a fragmentation, usually along ethic lines, in parts of the world like the Slavic states and states once part of the southwestern and southern areas of the USSR. As an independent nation, Scotland would have a small economy. But so do plenty of relatively new nations such as Georgia and Moldova.

I can't help but worry that I will live to see the effective dissolution of the United Kingdom. Though if it should occur, I hope it will be following a Scotland-wide referendum preceded by a sufficient period of debate and ideally by whatever amendments or acts of Parliament might be necessary to make it unquestionably legal. Certainly, it would be hard for me, or anyone, to argue against a free people's democratic and peaceful choice for independence.